NWUPC

🔹Keynote Panel Discussion: Raising Your Game - A dynamic and engaging panel discussion that brings together leading voices in procurement. Expect practical examples, honest reflections, and tangible takeaways on how individuals and teams have successfully demonstrated their commercial acumen, and how you can do the same.

Procurement is evolving, and so should we. This dynamic keynote panel explores how professionals can move beyond traditional, process-driven procurement into a more commercially focused, negotiation and strategy-led approach. The session will unpack what it truly means to “raise your game” shifting from compliance-led activity to delivering measurable strategic value.

🔹 Towards a new era of collaboration: next steps for transformation and efficiency - Miriam Deakin, Director of Strategy, Insight and Member Engagement at Universities UK.

Miriam joins us to offer a recap of the recommendations of UUK's Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce, the progress being made across the sector and our asks of government. With the chance for participants to reflect on, and share, steps they are taking in their institutions and where we could achieve more collectively.

🔹 Legal Insights Post-Procurement Act: The Power of Procurement in Action - Delivered by Consultant Solicitor and Procurement Law Trainer Kieran McGaughey, this session will take a clear, practical look at how the Procurement Act 2023 is landing across Higher Education.

Now that implementation is underway, what does “business as usual” really look like? Where are the pressure points, what risks remain, and what should procurement teams be focusing on next? Moving beyond theory, this session will provide legal insight grounded in real-world application, helping delegates understand how to strengthen compliance, improve governance and use the new regime more strategically. A confident, forward-looking update for procurement professionals ready to move from understanding the Act to making it work.

🔹 Laboratory Sustainability and LEAF - Jenna Lowe, Laboratory Sustainability Officer at the University of Liverpool.

Laboratory-based research is fundamental to scientific and societal advancement; however, it is also highly energy- and resource-intensive, it is estimated that laboratories produce 5.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually and consume between three and ten times more energy and up to five times more water per square metre than a typical office building.

The Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) supports laboratories to embed sustainable practices and reduce their environmental impact through structured guidance across key operational areas. Jenna has been involved with LEAF since its pilot at the University in 2021 and has managed the programme institution-wide for the past two and a half years. In this session, Jenna will share her experience of completing LEAF during the pilot phase, alongside insights into managing the programme across campus, highlighting both the benefits for laboratories and the challenges encountered.

🔹 Heard, Trusted, Valued: Building Influence in the Post-Procurement Act Era - Laura Sellers MCIPS, Founder of Coaching for Procurement.

The Procurement Act has changed expectations - but influence, not authority, is what gets results. Procurement faces a familiar challenge: you're expected to deliver value, drive compliance, and partner strategically across the organisation, yet you rarely have formal authority over the people you need to influence. The Procurement Act has added a new dynamic to this tension. This keynote explores why influence without authority has become Procurement's most critical leadership skill and introduces a proven framework that helps you to navigate it. You'll leave with a fresh perspective on how to position yourself as a strategic partner, not just a policy enforcer, and a clear structure you can start using immediately.

Laura is an accredited executive and team coach specialising exclusively in Procurement; working with leaders, teams and functions to strengthen leadership capability and drive lasting effectiveness. Working with individual Procurement leaders to expand their leadership toolkit with confidence, equipping them to influence outcomes and command presence at a senior level. Alongside this, she brings specialist expertise in team coaching, helping Procurement functions to build trust, sharpen communication and step into greater collective maturity.

Underpinning her work is the P.R.O.C.U.R.E® framework; a structured coaching approach designed specifically for the Procurement profession. She is the founder of Coaching for Procurement Ltd, built on her experience of working in-house and using that knowledge to drive higher performance in Procurement through transformational coaching approaches.

🔹 Unlocking the Power of Connection - Join Dave Yates, Sustainable Relationships Manager at NWUPC, for an exclusive, insight packed workshop created especially for our exhibitors at #NWUPC26. As part of our ongoing commitment to strengthening supplier relationships and maintaining the highest standards across our frameworks, NWUPC have been recently undertaking site visits with our framework suppliers, and this session will unpack what that really means for you.

Discover how we can go beyond compliance to become powerful tools for understanding supplier capabilities, ambitions, and areas for growth. Dave will explore how we can use these insights to drive stronger engagement, build deeper collaboration, and create more strategic partnerships across every level of the supply chain.

If you’re looking to better understand expectations, showcase your strengths, and play a more active role in shaping successful framework delivery, this is a session you won’t want to miss.